DIOR Escale à Portofino

The very first journey takes place in Italy, in a pretty port town in Tuscany, Portofino, offering fresh Mediterranean scents to the women of summer 2008.

Escale à Portofino, or perfumes with the flavor of olfactory escapes

The trend in perfumery is toward summer scents. Often these summer fragrances take the form of fruity or aquatic flankers inspired by each house's great perfumes. Sometimes, however, houses take the occasion to introduce entirely new collections, which was the case with the Dior house and its lovely Escales.

Dior's very first olfactory journey was Escale à Portofino. Why Portofino, and why Tuscany? Simply because Christian Dior liked to retreat to his Italian property, hidden among the magnificent cypresses of Tuscany. A passion for Italy so consuming that the great couturier peacefully ended his days there. Escale à Portofino is thus a tribute paid by the Dior house to its creator's unconditional love for the gentle, peaceful lands of Tuscany.

Portofino is also a place that evokes all the magic of picturesque Italian life, a magic that is captured in the visual for Escale à Portofino. Indeed, the fragrance's gentle face is at once carefree, as if to better savor the dolce vita, while remaining ever elegant, dressed all in white. Escale à Portofino thus offers, through its zesty scents, a piece of the Italian dream...

Italy's most beautiful citrus notes for the lovely Escale à Portofino

The bottle for Escale à Portofino was the first in the series to offer a sober, understated design without forgetting the Dior house's prestigious past, displayed in the precious cannage pattern engraved directly into the bottle's glass, a symbol of the haute couture house.

As this perfume is meant to be Dior's vibrant tribute to Italy, it seemed only logical that Escale à Portofino be built primarily around citrus accords, typically Italian. From the top notes onward, essence of Italian citron blended with bergamot, lemon and petitgrain propels the scent toward the Mediterranean freshness of the small, colorful port of Portofino. It then carries on toward a zesty, floral heart of orange blossom, delicately powdered with essence of bitter almond from Sicily. Finally, light, cottony white musks wrap themselves in essence of neroli flower, creating a deep sillage for this beautiful Mediterranean fragrance that is Escale à Portofino.

The natural essences, created through close ties between the famous perfume house and local Italian producers, made it possible to obtain premium raw materials for a rare and subtle fragrance. Escale à Portofino is a pure, tangy journey to the lands of Tuscany, one that will carry the lucky woman who wears it to its very heart.